Self-other relations in Sikhism: Theoretical insights for global IR

Arora, Seerat (2023) Self-other relations in Sikhism: Theoretical insights for global IR. E- International Relations.

[thumbnail of Self-Other-Relations-in-Sikhism-Theoretical-Insights-for-Global-IR.pdf] Text
Self-Other-Relations-in-Sikhism-Theoretical-Insights-for-Global-IR.pdf - Published Version

Download (154kB)

Abstract

While the epistemology and ontology of Western-centric International Relations (IR) claim to be universal in nature, they are culturally confined and geo-politically biased at their very onset. The foremost task, thus, is to engage with the epistemological-ontological mosaics emanating from non-Western intellectual resources. One such underexplored non-Western intellectual resource is Sikhism which emerged in India around the fifteenth century. It is generally defined as a philosophical tradition of monotheism with few elements of Hinduism and Sufism. The philosophy of Sikhism presumes a fundamental unity underlying the diverse realities of the world as encountered by a variety of ‘self’ and ‘other/s’. As such, the diverse realities of the world are to be considered mutually interconnected. In contemporary times, when IR theory and practice seem fraught with increasing ‘us versus them’ tensions, the Sikh philosophy can become an important platform to rethink and re-approach the persisting dilemmas of (im)morality that engulf self-other relations. The present article aims to achieve this goal. It is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the Sikh view of self-other relations. The second section provides an analysis of the big questions of morality in Sikhism. Finally, the third section explores how the non-Western intellectual resource of Sikh Philosophy can provide an alternative understanding of self-other relations in world politics by logically expanding the boundaries of Western-centric IR and, in doing so, adding to the Global IR deliberations.

Item Type: Article in News Papers and Magazine
Subjects: Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Social Sciences (General)
JGU School/Centre: Jindal School of International Affairs
Depositing User: Amees Mohammad
Date Deposited: 29 Aug 2023 05:13
Last Modified: 29 Aug 2023 05:13
Official URL: https://www.e-ir.info/2023/08/17/self-other-relati...
Additional Information: This article is part of the Indian IR Meets Global IR series, edited by Deepshikha Shahi and Raghav Dua
URI: https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/6578

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item